Spicy Sausage Pasta

I know I have been absent for awhile, we have been back in Texas with our families and busy, busy, busy. We are still in Texas, but I am back to blogging! I have lots of great new favorites coming your way.

I am always on the lookout for meals that can be made with pantry staples. This is one of them. The packs of sausage stay good for a pretty long time, if they stay hidden from my husband, and we usually try to keep at least one package of them in the refrigerator. You use a few additional ingredients, a can of rotel, pasta, cheese, and some heavy cream and you have a quick and easy meal. You can easily leave out the onions, if you have an onion hater, or puree the rotel in a blender first, if you have a picky eater. I have tried this with both the mild rotel and the rotel with habaneros, both were great. I am a heat fanatic and even I thought it was spicy (in a good way) with the habaneros, so beware!

This meal took no longer than 30 minutes to make, including prep time. Another bonus is that this meal is relatively cheap and makes a huge batch. We had this meal one night when I was holiday baking up a storm and really did not feel like making dinner. I made myself do it, because it was on our meal plan, and it was excellent. My husband kept talking about how much he liked it, he didn't even notice I made it with whole-grain pasta!
Source: Kevin & Amanda, originally from America's Test Kitchen, The Best Simple Recipes

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 lb. of Smoked Sausage
1 1/2 cups of Onion, diced, about 1 onion
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
2 cups of Chicken Broth, low-sodium
1 can of Rotel Tomatoes & Green Chiles, mild
1/2 cup of Heavy Cream
8 oz. of Pasta, bowtie, penne, elbow, whatever you have
Salt and Pepper
1 cup of Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded
1/3 cup of Green Onions, thinly sliced

Directions:
First, in an oven-safe skillet, that has a lid, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, until just smoking. Add the sausage and onions and sauté until lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.

Now, add in the chicken broth, rotel, cream, pasta, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Stir and bring this mixture to a boil. When boiling, reduce heat to low and cover the skillet with the lid. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the pasta is tender.

Turn the broiler on high. Stir in 1/2 cup of cheese to the pasta and top the pasta with the additional cheese and scallions. Place the skillet in the oven and broil for a minute or until the cheese is browned.

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking,
The Barbee Housewife